First Cemetery of Athens

First Cemetery of Athens
The First Cemetery of Athens (Próto Nekrotafeío Athinón) is the official cemetery of the City of Athens and the first to be built. It opened in 1837 and soon became a prestigious cemetery for Greeks and foreigners.
The cemetery is located behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Panathinaiko Stadium in central Athens. It can be found at the top end of Anapafseos Street (Eternal Rest Street). It is a large green space with pines and cypresses.
In the cemetery there are three churches. The main one is the Church of Saint Theodores and there is also a smaller one dedicated to Saint Lazarus. The third church of Saint Charles is a Catholic church. The cemetery includes several impressive tombs such as those of Heinrich Schliemann, designed by Ernst Ziller; Ioannis Pesmazoglou; Georgios Averoff; and one tomb with a famous sculpture of a dead young girl called I Koimomeni ("The Sleeping Girl") and sculpted by Yannoulis Chalepas from the island of Tinos. There are also burial areas for Protestants and Jews, however, this segregation is not compulsory.
The cemetery is under the Municipality of Athens and is declared an historical monument.
Notable interments
Odysseas Androutsos, hero of the Greek War of Independence
George Averoff, philanthropist, businessman
Sotiria Bellou, singer
Nikolaos Bourandas, police and fire service general, politician
Yannoulis Chalepas, sculptor
Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens
Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Athens
Richard Church, general
Jules Dassin, director, actor
Stratos Dionysiou, singer
Dorotheus, Archbishop of Athens
Odysseas Elytis, poet, 1979 Nobel Laureate in literature
Demetrios Farmakopoulos, painter
George Finlay, historian
Adolf Furtwängler, archaeologist
Dimitris Horn, actor
Humphrey Jennings, filmmaker
Georgios Kafantaris, Prime Minister of Greece
Dimitrios Kallergis, statesman
Konstantinos Kanaris, hero of the Greek War of Independence, admiral, statesman
Tzeni Karezi, actress
Manos Katrakis, actor
Nikos Kavvadias, poet
Theodoros Kolokotronis, pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence, general
Marika Kotopouli, actress
Ellie Lambeti, actress
Grigoris Lambrakis, politician
Zoe Laskari, actress
Vassilis Logothetidis, actor
Yannis Makriyannis, merchant, military officer, politician, author
Orestis Makris, actor
Manolis Mantakas, army officer, and politician
Alexandros Mavrokordatos, politician
Melina Mercouri, actress, politician
Andreas Michalakopoulos, politician
Dimitris Mitropanos, singer
Dimitri Mitropoulos, conductor, pianist, composer
Nikitaras, hero of the Greek War of Independence
Kostis Palamas, poet
Alexandros Panagoulis, politician, poet, democracy activist
Antonios Papadakis, University of Athens' greatest benefactor
Georgios Papadopoulos, military dictator during the Regime of the Colonels
Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece
George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece
Kalliroi Parren, feminist
Katina Paxinou, actress
George Polk, American journalist murdered during the Greek Civil War
Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, poet
Demis Roussos, singer
Alekos Sakellarios, director, screenwriter, lyricist
Rita Sakellariou, singer
Spyros Spyromilios, military officer
Dimitris Papamichael, actor and director
Alexandros Papanastasiou, lawyer
Christos Sartzetakis, President of Greece
Heinrich Schliemann, amateur archaeologist who excavated the site of Troy
Sophia Schliemann, his second wife, philanthropist
Giorgos Seferis, poet
Seraphim, Archbishop of Athens
Angelos Sikelianos, poet
Michael Tositsas, benefactor
Charilaos Trikoupis, Prime Minister of Greece
Vassilis Tsitsanis, rebetiko composer
Ioannis Varvakis, member of Filiki Eteria
Thanasis Veggos, actor
Sofia Vembo, singer
Aliki Vougiouklaki, actress
T.H. White, author
Emmanuil Xanthos, a founder of the Filiki Eteria
Nikos Xilouris, singer and composer
Nikos Zachariadis, politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) from 1931 to 1956
Napoleon Zervas, Hellenic Army officer and WWII resistance leader
Ernst Ziller, architect
Xenophon Zolotas, Prime Minister of Greece
Gallery
References
Papyrus Larousse Britannica, 2006
External links
Cemeteries in Greece
National cemeteries
Eastern Orthodox cemeteries in Greece
Roman Catholic cemeteries
Anglican cemeteries in Europe
Lutheran cemeteries
Buildings and structures in Athens
Tourist attractions in Athens
1837 establishments in Greece